Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Well, "Chanteuse" has sat staring at me since last November and I have finally decided that there is nothing further that this beautiful hat needs. I did create a hatpin to go with it, as it seems apropos and any hat that is worn at this dramatic an angle should have one.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

It seems I can not help myself! For me, that is a good thing. It is what makes me my most creative.

This is a work in progress. She has been named "Chanteuse". She is delicious and I have seen her on several different shaped heads and everyone of them can pull it off.

These are freeform sculptures. Not sure if she is done yet, but she does feel 'done' (except for final shaping/cutting/combs, etc.). Maybe it is the color or the curves, but I really can't imagine anything else on her. Your suggestions? veil? feather pin?

Monday, November 22, 2010

I always go back to this shape. You can see it in many of my pieces. Not only does it fit the head but it is attractive on everyone. This is the same for clothing. Cloth that drapes and curves around a body is much more attractive to me than hard lines.

Though I do find some of the austere and moderne lines attractive in furnishings, my emotions always go to the curve. Soft edges, natural movement.

This piece is called "Celeste" and is one of the Art For Your Head hats. She is delicious on everyone who has tried it on. More pictures can be seen here: http://DreamWoven.com/AFYHCeleste.htmShe is available for purchase.

I have currently been devoting my energy to re-creating some knitted hats that have been my bread and butter for many years. I had gotten tired of making them so I stopped. When I picked up the needles again, my fingers remembered what my brain had forgotten. The joy of seeing a knitted piece, no matter how simple, come to fruition, was something I had lost in the last couple of years.

For me, one of the best parts of selling out of a brick and mortar shop is that I get to see my customers face (yes... their real live face!) as they try on their hats, primp in front of a mirror and decide whether the hat is for them. There is nothing quite like a woman with hat attitude. When she knows she looks good. When it makes her happy to have a hat sitting on her head. When she knows eyes are turned to see what she is wearing. and for me..., this is something I rarely get to see because I was primarily selling online. There is also the little added joy of not having to package a beautiful hat up for shipping.

Here are some pics of recent purchases by women that were happy. Did their purchase make them happy? You bet it did!Black & White Pigtail hat!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Ahhhh, the Trilby! We've all seen it. I own a Trilby... a plain black Trilby that belonged to my son. I love the shape and the attitude. It is still being worn today after starting out its illustrious career in the late 1800's.

For me, it always makes me think of the 50's & early '60's (that's the 1950's and the early 1960's).Visions of Sean Conneryor Frank Sinatra .

All men wore hats then and the type of hat they wore said alot about the kind of guy they were. Obviously they were very cool.

The Trilby is a felt hat, with a narrow brim with a crown that has a deep indent. It has been a fashion statement for men and women for a very long time. George Du Maurier wrote a novel called "Trilby" in 1894 which became a play a year later. The Hat is named after the main character, and became famous because the actress playing the part of "Trilby" wore one .

The Trilby is similiar to the Fedora (yes...there will be a post about the Fedora!), but the main difference is that the brim of the Trilby is alot shorter.

Now tell me these hats are not cool, debonair and sauve!!!! (Even though there is a Fedora thrown in there.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Last year I had started a blog regarding Hats and their history and last night, while we were watching the 1998 film "Frank Lloyd Wright", I was reminded of it by every photograph of Mr. Wright, looking extremely dapper in his Pork Pie Hat.

I think Pork Pie Hats are sexy. Sexy on a man, sexy on a woman. There is just something about the attitude that goes a long with the Pork Pie. (I also dislike saying "Pork Pie". Sounds kind of slippery, greasy, not quite edible, but I will deal with it).

Pork Pies have been around since the mid-19th century. It is a round hat with a turned-up brim and a flat crown. Both men and women have worn versions of the Pork Pie. Women wore tiny Pork Pies, tipped forward over the forehead because of elaborate hairdos. Men sometimes wore them with ribbons flowing down the back. It gets it's name from its resemblance to a 'pork pie'.

Songs have been written about the Pork Pie(thank you Charlie Mingus)...here's a version of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat by Jeff Beck(Listen to this while you read the rest... it is very very good)

Buster Keaton would not have been Buster Keaton without his Pork Pie Hat....(and he made his very own hats too)!

Two more reasons why it is so good that Pork Pie Hats are still around today :) (They are cute, aren't they?)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Recently, Bill gave a two day workshop on "Getting to Know Acrylics" and I took the workshop. The caveat to taking the workshop was that I 'did everything I was told' in the class. For any of you that know me, you will understand how difficult that is for me. Bill, being Bill, knew that this would take a concerted effort on my part, but I agreed nonetheless.

I am not a painter. I can not draw or better put, I can not draw anything easily and in my entire lifetime there are maybe a handful of things I can look at that don't cause me embarrassment. I see wonderful things in my mind...I see them as 3D sculptural things, but somewhere from mind to hand to paper they are totally distorted by a motor skill that I can not master.

The class had other artists (those that could paint) and I was the only one without the experience.... and it didn't matter! I left that first day completely satisfied with what I had accomplished so far and looked forward to coming back for the second day. Bill has real skill at teaching. He also has incredible patience.

In this case... pictures will definitely speak better than words.

Here is the photograph Bill took that we were using to paint from.Here is Bill's painting (which he did along with the class)

and here is mine.

Watching my painting develop on the canvas wasn't the only thrill. I also found that I actually began to understand a concept of painting that I really hadn't thought that much about...The concept that I wasn't painting an object, but that I was painting what makes that object.

Sometimes good things really do come out of 'doing what you are told'.

For anyone that is interested, Bill will be giving a one-day class on November 16, 2010 on "Getting To Know Acrylics". More information can be found here: Workshops/Classes

Friday, October 22, 2010

For the last several years I had been working for 1000Markets.com, a beautiful site that quickly ran into problems. On the 7th of September, we (those that worked at 1000 Markets) were told that the site would be shutting down and to start looking for other work, etc. We also could not talk about what was going on, which created an additional stress level.

It was sad to see such a beautiful site die... and that is what it did... it died, slowly and painfully. While at 1000 Markets I met some of the best people and I met some of the worse. People with agendas and those without a clue. I had to say goodbye to working friends. It was a great learning experience and then it ended....rather abruptly.

Well, there was one other stop along the way… when 1000 Markets closed, it was taken over by Bonanzle, now Bonanza.

On the 17th of September I was hired on by Bonanzle. This was a truly rotten experience for me. In my fear of not being able to bring in the money I needed to, I took a job with an entity that gave me palpitations from day one. It was a mistake and it felt wrong from the beginning. In a complete contrast to what I had experienced with 1000 Markets, this place was terribly the opposite. It left a terrible taste in my mouth and I am no longer associated with them.

During my time with 1000 Markets a lot happened, especially with regards to my DreamWoven business. There was no way to stay on top of both my own business and working for someone else. For me, it didn't mesh and I watched DreamWoven take a dive. It didn't die, but more or less went into hibernation. I still created and sold quite a few beautiful pieces, but it wasn't like it had been.

Out of the bad experience with Bonanza came good. The last few weeks has brought change to my vision, focus and desires. I have walked away from the daily ‘work’ I was doing, with a lot of new experience and usable skills. The creative fire that dwindled to smoldering ashes has returned. Slow and steady.

It hasn’t been a month yet, since 1000 Markets closed, but things move fast on the internet and it feels as if this occurred several years ago. It is time for new. It is time for healthy and it is time for energy!

Some of the great things that are going on now are:

**Bill now has a studio at Studio on the Park and has sold a few small paintings and taught a very successful 2 day workshop and is continuing to paint daily.

**I started a small Art Tile business that seems to be doing alright and fills in the small cash flow problems.

**I became more involved with the local Art Association and have been helping with their exhibit bring-ins and show hangings and met some of the (real live) best people around!

**A wonderful woman is opening a Fine Craft at Studios on the Park here locally and I have the opportunity to help her with some of my gained knowledge and she has inspired me to push myself into creating a new line of hats.

**The new hat line is called “Tissu” (French for fabric, cloth, material) and I am enjoying them immensely. It is not my usual way of creating hats, so this is good for me as well. I also have a huge pancake pile of brilliant colored Attitude hats ready for her shop.

I want to thank all of you who have purchased from me during the last several years. Thanks for your patience and understanding and I hope you stick with me through all the upcoming new adventures I might find myself in. ~Rachel